| By their nature, other sources unfortunately provide less detail about the legal status or ontological dynamics of conversion than the more voluminous body of rabbinic tradition. Yet sources from Philo and Josephus to Joseph and Aseneth indicate that people anticipated transformation of some sort as well as a change in legal status; proselytes turned completely from their former Gentile condition. 4848 Various traditions of moral transformation suggest the possibility of that image: echoing the language of Saul " s transformation ( 1Sam 10:6 ), Joshua and Kenaz each became «another person.» 4849 More relevantly (if the document does not bear Christian influence), Joseph prays for the repentant Asenath as she converts to Judaism: «renew [νακανισον] her by your spirit… revive [ναζωοποησον] her by your life.» 4850 The Covenanters held that a hostile angel left the convert who truly obeyed the law (CD 16.4–6). Thus some Jews may have viewed conversion more ontologically than others. But many Jewish people did not, and the early Christian view of re-creation by the Spirit thus demands a more explicit sort of supernatural intervention. 4851 Whatever Jewish people believed about the transformation of Gentiles in conversion, they believed that Israelites did not need this transformation of conversion (cf. Matt 3:9; Luke 3:8). 4852 Thus, for example, in later rabbinic thought Israel was already delivered from the mastery of the evil impulse 4853 or from the evil powers of the stars. 4854 Jewish people were born into the covenant by natural birth; requiring a second birth to enter it was beyond Nicodemus " s understanding. 4855 It is therefore not suprising that Nicodemus might not grasp what Jesus was demanding of him (3:4). 3. What This Birth Means (3:4–8) Nicodemus " s failure to understand the nature of Jesus» allusion (3:4) provides the opportunity for Jesus to explain more fully: he means a spiritual rebirth, probably employing symbolically Jewish imagery for conversion (3:5–6). «Entering» the kingdom is familiar enough language from the Synoptic tradition, 4856 but «birth from water and the Spirit» as a prerequisite resembles at best only one extant logion in that tradition ( Mark 10:15 ; Matt 18:3–4). 4857 The reader not familiar with other early Christian language for regeneration ( Gal 4:19, 29 ; 1Pet 1:23 ; perhaps Jas 1:18), presumably widely known among John " s circle (1 John 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18), would nevertheless come to this passage with some understanding based on 1:12–13; Nicodemus, however, is naturally clueless. |
| That one disciple would be particularly «beloved» does not contradict the Synoptic tradition, where some disciples were closer to Jesus than others. Given the tradition in Mark 10:37 , it is possible that John son of Zebedee often reclined near Jesus in historical reality. 8252 Brown contends that the beloved disciple represents a real person, 8253 but not John son of Zebedee, 8254 a community hero in whom the community is idealized. 8255 We have argued earlier that, against the consensus of modern scholarship, the ancient view that the beloved disciple is indeed John son of Zebedee has strong support; 8256 further, the third-person description cannot be weighed against it. Although participants in accounts often described themselves in the first person, they also often chose the third person, particularly if their identity was already known to their audience. 8257 Of course, it was also not unusual to name the eyewitness who supplied one the information, 8258 sometimes even with consistent reminders that the writer is conveying another " s report. 8259 It is more essential here to note that the beloved disciple also serves an idealized literary function. As Jesus resided in the Father " s bosom (1:18), so the beloved disciple rested in Jesus» bosom (13:23); 8260 yet, by implication, the same is true of believers (cf. 14:23; Luke 16:22). So also believers, like the «beloved» disciple (13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:20), were special objects of Jesus» affection (14:21; 15:9, 12; cf. 3:16; 11:5, 36), including in the immediate context (13:1,34). Other disciples such as Martha, Mary, and Lazarus also receive the same title of affection (11:5); rather than meaning «favorite» to the exclusion of others, it may be the voice of one marveling that he is the object of such love (cf. Gal 2:20 ; 1Tim 1:12–16; 1 John 4:10–11 ). When Paul speaks of Christ loving him and dying for him ( Gal 2:20 ; perhaps even showing him special mercy,l Cor 15:10), he invites reader identification. Noting that God loved Moses very much, some could designate Moses as God " s «favorite»; 8261 but in the context of the whole Fourth Gospel, the beloved disciple here probably does allude in some sense to Jesus» favor toward all his followers (as all of them function as a new Moses, 1:14; 14:8). One could even name onés child «beloved by God» without implying that such love was exclusive to the child (cf. the common compounding of Geo- and φιλ-roots with each other in antiquity). 8262 |
| Those who were seeking him in the temple (11:56) probably included these Jewish people from outside Jerusalem (11:55) who remembered hearing Jesus at earlier recent feasts (thus presumably they were mostly Galileans rather than distant foreigners, who could make pilgrimage only rarely); in contrast to the leaders mentioned in 11:57, they do not appear uniformly hostile to Jesus. They had good reason to wonder whether he would come to the feast (11:56); although it was considered pious behavior to come, they were also aware that the leaders wanted to kill Jesus (11:57; cf. 8:59; 10:31; 11:8). Thus John again builds suspense as his narrative begins to climax in Jesus» final coming to, and suffering in, Jerusalem. 4. Mary " s Lavish Devotion (12:1–8) Even though Jesus» passion overshadows the entire body of the Gospel from ch. 2 on, fully one-third of the Gospel specifically occurs during the week of Jesus» execution, mostly in or near Jerusalem. This reflects and further augments the sort of emphasis on the passion that one finds in Mark. In contrast to most modern biographies, some ancient biographies devoted an extensive proportion of their space to events immediately preceding and surrounding their protagonists» deaths. 7745 R. Alan Culpepper points to structural parallels between John 12 and 13: Category John 12 John 13 Six days before Passover Before Passover Companion Lazarus Beloved disciple Washing feet Mary washed Jesus Jesus washed disciples Jesus» death Day of my burial Took off robe (implied) Jesus» departure You do not always have me Hour to depart from the world As Culpepper notes, this repetition increases pathos. 7746 The repetition also builds toward a climax, the discourse making Jesus» death and departure more explicit. Most of ch. 12 is transitional, closing Jesus» public ministry and (with 11:45–57) leading into the Passion Narrative. 7747 Mary " s anointing at Bethany contrasts starkly with the preceding scene of calculated plans to have Jesus killed: «a supreme act of ignorant unbelief and a supreme act of intelligent faith.» 7748 The smaller units (11:45–46, 54–57; 12:9–11) in this section underline the mixed response to Jesus; the two longest units, however, contrast the high priests (11:47–53) and Mary (12:1–8), while linking Judas with the attitude of the Judean elite (12:4–6). 7749 After the leaders have plotted against Jesus» life (11:47–53), Mary lovingly anoints him for burial, Jesus is acclaimed king of Israel (12:13) as he will be at the cross (18:39; 19:3, 14–15, 19), and Jesus» brief discourse elaborates on his impending death (12:23–33), preparing the way for the Passion Narrative. 7750 4A. The Tradition |
| Nicodemus, by contrast, had to be named because he recurs in 7and 19:39.) The contrast between Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman (as well as some other characters) would frustrate a normal ancient Jewish reader " s expectations (although John s own original audience already may be predisposed to suspect that the Judean elite is more hostile); in matters of ministry as well as Christology, one dare not judge by outward appearance (7:24). Because Nicodemus eventually believes (19:39), this text illustrates the wide spectrum of believers in Jesus. 5210 Other, more subtle narrative connections are also possible, like the comparison with Jesus» crucifixion scene, the epitome of his rejection by his own people in contrast to the positive Samaritan reception. 5211 1. Theological Themes in the Narrative Jesus crosses at least three significant barriers in the story: the socioethnic barrier of centuries of Jewish-Samaritan prejudice; the gender barrier; and a moral barrier imposed by this woman " s assumed behavior. The heart of the story appears in 4:23–24: the Father has been seeking true worshipers who will worship him in Spirit and truth, and that was why the Father sent Jesus (4:4) to this particular woman. Outward markers, which John " s religious contemporaries would contemplate, such as her gender, religious tradition and ethnicity, and past moral activity, prove irrelevant in revealing the sort of person God seeks to worship him. Indeed, whereas Jesus sought Philip (1:43), he did not seek out members of the religious elite; even open-minded Nicodemus had to come to Jesus (3:2); but Jesus went to great lengths and took serious risks to reach the Samaritan woman. 5212 All of these barriers appear individually in other Gospel traditions. Thus Jesus ministers to Samaritans in Luke (10:33; 17:16–19), 5213 and Gentiles appear at notorious points in Mark (7:26–29) and Q (Matt 8:5–13; Luke 7:1–10); the later church found these few traditions particularly usefu1. Still more clearly, women appear in prominent roles in the gospel tradition, 5214 with an undoubtedly historical core. 5215 Although later Christians like Paul seem to have moderated this emphasis for apologetic reasons, many of these traditions, distinctly progressive by ancient Mediterranean standards, remained. 5216 Jesus» banquets with sinners, as well as complaints of the pious against this practice, are also significant in the tradition and undoubtedly reflect a historical nucleus. 5217 Mark " s account of the Syro-Phoenician woman combines two of these issues, 5218 but John " s account of the sinful Samaritan woman underlines three of these issues latent in the Jesus tradition. |
| The vine image could thus imply a sense of community 8878 the Jewish believers inherited from early Judaism in genera1. Whereas the Eleusinian cult of Demeter, for example, met only annually and did not lead initiates to associate with one another, early Judaism and Christianity were exclusivistic and carried a strong sense of community. 8879 Nevertheless, early Christian literature provides no examples of early Christian communities with the sort of rigid hierarchical structure expected of Qumran Covenanters (e.g., 1QS 5.23–24; 6.2). Most early Jews and Christians associated for common worship and need; formal structures were less rigid than Qumran, but sufficient. If the vine alludes to Israel, the designation «true» (15:1) may forcefully contrast Jesus with Israe1. 8880 One should not overstate the contrast; whereas «true» can exclude any others (17:3), it can also simply contrast with «mere.» «True bread» does not contrast Jesus with Torah but does contrast him with mere manna (6:32, 55); «true light» contrasts him with an inferior though accurate witness (1:9). Such passages may respond to opponents of the Johannine community " s witness who claim that Jesus» way is not «true» (cf. 5:31–32; 7:18; 8:13–17; 19:35; 21:24). John " s «vine» image may function in the same way that Paul " s «olive tree» image does; in both cases, disobedient branches are broken off ( John 15:2, 6 ; Rom 11:17 ), though John, most of whose audience probably already regards itself as Jewish, does not emphasize any grafting on of foreign branches. Here as elsewhere (cf. comment on 3:3–5), for John, «becoming a true Jew and becoming a Christian are one and the same thing.» 8881 2. The Vinedresser " s Pruning (15:1–3) The figure of God as the vinedresser (15:1) is not completely unexpected. Gardeners often belonged to the poorest class (Apuleius Metam. 9.31), such as those who might lease rather than own a vineyard (P.Oxy. 1631.9–13). 8882 Yet not all farmers (γεωργο) were poor, 8883 and in any case, this fact is less significant than other backgrounds for the image; Jesus himself appears as a sort of gardener in 20:15. 8884 Naturally, Greek texts could sometimes portray Dionysus as the ultimate vinedresser (Achilles Tatius 2.3.2). 8885 Far more important, OT images of Israel as God " s vine imply God or his workers as tenders of that vine; Paul speaks of God " s church as his field, his γεργιον ( 1Cor 3:9 ). 2A. A Vinedresser " s Attention |
| The behavior of the believers» enemies itself condemns them. The believers» opponents believe that the death of Christians offers priestly sacrifice to God (16:2), no doubt pleasing to God the way Phinehas " s execution of an Israelite idolater had been. 9186 In fact, however, they think in this manner precisely because they have never genuinely known God or his agent (16:3). Jewish Christians were not the only minority group in Judaism to respond with hostility to what they regarded as the broader hostility of Israe1. Qumran interpreters concluded that Belial caught Israel in nets by presenting them as forms of righteousness (CD 4.15–17; cf. comment on John 16below). 9187 A further note of irony appears in the persecutors» conviction that their acts offer worship to God. In fact, those whom they martyr do «glorify» God by their deaths (21:19), 9188 as Jesus had (12:23–24; 13:31–33). Because Jesus» hearers in this passage had been with him from the «beginning,» they were qualified to witness (15:27), but now he was providing warnings they had not needed at the «beginning» (16:4). His presence had been enough for them (16:4), but now that he was leaving (16:5), 9189 they would need to be warned of what was coming (16:2–3). Other hardships awaited them, but Jesus could not explain them at this point (16:12); they were already weighed down with sorrow (16:6). 9190 When, however, Jesus» successor, the Spirit of truth, would come, he would reveal the rest of Jesus» secrets (16:13–15), including the things to come (16:13). Undoubtedly this included a revelation of future sufferings, beyond Jesus» own summary in this context (15:18–16:3), such as one finds in the book of Revelation. 8829 That Jewish parables often included allegorical elements is now clear, against earlier Aristotelian models; see Johnston, Parables; Keener, Matthew, 381–84; on «parables» (in the broader ancient sense) in John, see comment on 10:6. 8830 For moralists» various botanical illustrations, e.g., Seneca Ep. Luci1. 112.2; Plutarch Demosthenes 1.3; Marcus Cato 3.3 (and Jewish images, below); Eunapius Lives 461. John " s circle of believers may have also compared the «world» with a vine in contrast to the community of believers (Rev 14:18), but the pervasiveness of vine imagery renders this judgment at most possible. |
| 2A. Not Elijah (1:21a) That the Fourth Gospel plays John " s role down in light of some contemporary exorbitant claims for him is likely (see comment on 1:6–8), especially since the Fourth Gospel refuses to grant him even the role of Elijah which he seems to have played to some extent in pre-Markan tradition ( Mark 1:6 ; Matt 3:4; 3829 cf. 1 Kgs 17:6; 2 Kgs 1LXX; Mark 9:13 ; Matt 17:12–13; Luke 1:17), 3830 even though he does not explicitly transfer those claims to Jesus. 3831 It may also merit mention that the Synoptic miracle traditions which applied Elijah " s miracle-working role to Jesus and passages such as Luke 9:61–62 (cf. 1 Kgs 19:20) and 10(cf. 2 Kgs 4:29) already transferred some Elijah images to Jesus, but for Jesus these were clearly inadequate (cf. Luke 9:8, 19–20, 33–35, although Luke omits Mark " s parallel acclamation of the deceased Baptist as Elijah here). Of course, even the Synoptic writers did not suppose that John was literally Elijah ( Mark 9:4 ; Matt 17:3; Luke 1:17; 9:30). 3832 If the historical John saw himself as a forerunner, he may have seen himself as an Elijah at least in a figurative sense (cf. 1:23; Mal 4:5 ); if he saw himself as a forerunner for Elijah, he would have seen the one coming after him as literally «before» him (1:30). 3833 Jewish tradition naturally developed the promise of Elijah " s return in Mai 4:5–6 (MT 3:23–24), which appears as early as Ben Sira ( Sir 48:10 ). Later rabbis particularly seized on this feature of eschatological expectation, although they developed it in very different ways from nonrabbinic streams of thought. 3834 That Elijah remained alive was safely assumed from the biblical text (2 Kgs 2:9–12; Mal 4:5–6 ; cf. 1Macc 2:58; Sir 48:9 ), and later rabbis continued to work from this assumption. 3835 In these later rabbis, however, his role in the present period before the final time became more prominent than his eschatological function, perhaps due in part to the de-emphasis of messianic eschatology after the sufferings under Hadrian. (The rabbis also tended to view the prophets as proto-scribes.) 3836 Like other biblical prophets, Elijah became a master halachist, often sent to settle rabbinic disputes; 3837 also sometimes described with a role comparable to that of angels, 3838 the rabbinic Elijah often was sent on divine errands to miraculously aid rabbis. 3839 Other rabbinic evidence, however, does point to Elijah " s eschatological role. The rabbis were clearly aware of Malachís prophecy and they anticipated Elijah " s return at the end of the age 3840 alongside rabbinism " s other eschatological figures. 3841 Elijah would also exercise an eschatological halakic role, 3842 especially (in line with the rabbinic interpretation of Malachi) in determining proper lines of descent (Israelites vs. proselytes, etc.). 3843 Although the bulk of this evidence derives from the more numerous Amoraic texts, some of it is also Tannaitic. 3844 |
| John " s vertical dualism with Jesus in 3:13; 6:62; 20:17) and descending (cf. the Spirit «descending» from «heaven» «upon» Jesus in 1:32; Jesus in 3:13; 6:33, 38, 41, 42, 50, 58). 4341 Thus, he is not only the «Son of Man» who will come from heaven ( Dan 7:13–14 ), but is the mediator between heaven and earth, on whom the angels must trave1. The «angels of God ascending and descending» is a direct quote from Gen 28:12 . Thus, in short, Jesus is Jacob " s ladder, the one who mediates between God in heaven and his servant Jacob on earth (cf. 14:6); thus the «true Israelite» (1:47) may receive the revelation of God as his ancestor did ( Gen 28:12 ; cf. 32:1, an inclusio). 4342 As Jacob " s ladder, he is also Bethel, God " s house ( Gen 28:19 ), 4343 an image that naturally connects with Jesus as the new temple (1:14; 2:19–21; 4:20–24; 7:37–39; 14:2,23). Many commentators have investigated subsequent Jewish, particularly rabbinic, traditions about Jacob as background for the present passage. Because the Hebrew reference to angels descending «on it» (bn) could be translated «on him,» that is, «on Jacob,» some Jewish traditions portrayed angels traversing Jacob. 4344 In some rabbinic traditions angels beheld Israel " s heavenly image engraved in heaven, then descended to find the earthly Jacob on earth. 4345 The Palestinian Targum also indicates that angels ascended and descended to see Jacob; thus some commentators suggest that 1portrays Jesus as the true Jacob. 4346 Others, also pointing to Philós earlier picture of a heavenly Israel, find an analogous portrait in John, in which Jesus represents the heavenly and Nathanael the earthly Israe1. 4347 While contemporary Jewish backgrounds are welcomed and later evidence is sometimes all that we have, this passage makes more sense against the widely available background in Genesis itself than against the uncertainly dated and possibly not widely available background many scholars have suggested. Although John s «upon» could be read in support of the rabbinic interpretation that angels descended on Jacob, the LXX attests the more widepread interpretation in his day that angels ascended and descended the ladder (which, like the pronoun, is feminine in Gen 28LXX), the more natural contextual sense in Genesis. |
| 1Cor 11:23–25 ). If the Jewish officials want Jesus executed but Pilate does not, it makes some sense that he would push the responsibility off onto the people; perhaps he thought that Jesus was popular enough with the masses for them to want to release him. But in the Fourth Gospel, the «Jews» and the authorities overlap at most points, so, in the logic of the story world, Pilatés attempt to release Jesus by appealing to the «Jews» reveals only his inadequate, foreigner " s understanding of the ferment taking place within the Jewish community (7:43; 9:16; 10:19). 9929 1B. The Paschal Amnesty Custom (18:39) Pilatés offer may suggest that he thought himself indulgent on special occasions; his otherwise brutal disposition, however, colors all the other brief Jewish reports of his activity that remain extant. 9930 What is the historical likelihood that he might have followed an existing amnesty custom in Judea? Although all four gospels attest the paschal amnesty custom, 9931 most scholars remain skeptical of the custom because the proposed analogies from other locations appear inadequate. 9932 Yet an argument against the custom from silence (in a narrative that can be confirmed at many other points) may not take adequate account of the burden of proof in favor of the Gospels» usual authenticity (see introduction, ch. 1). 9933 One could argue that John follows a literary practice of his day in creating customs to suit his narrative, 9934 but if John is independent of the Markan tradition (less likely in the Passion Narrative than elsewhere), it would testify to the pre-Johannine character of John " s primary point here. Like most customs of the Roman administration in Palestine, this one is currently unattested (a not surprising situation given the freedom of governors to ignore and supersede earlier customs), 9935 but if the Gospels usually correctly report events, especially when they multiply attest them (as possibly here), the assumption should begin in favor of, rather than against, their claims if no hard evidence to the contrary is available. |
| That Jesus «manifested himself» to the disciples (21:1; this provides an inciusio with 21:14) is also Johannine language (1:31; 2:11; 3:21; 7:4; 9:3; 17:6) and, on a theological level, reflects the expectation in 14:21–23 of postresurrection encounters with Christ (albeit normally in the Spirit after the first encounter of 20:19–23). Jesus was, literally, «on the sea» (21:1); this is acceptable language for «beside the sea» ( Mark 4:1; 5:21 ; cf. John 21:4,9–10 ). It might recall Jesus» theophany on the sea (6:19; cf. Mark 6:47–49 ); but this is probably overexegesis (see 6:16). When John concludes the narrative by reminding the reader that this is the «third» time Jesus was revealed to the disciples (21:14), he includes in this count only the two appearances in the upper room (20:19–23,24–29). Like John " s other counts (2:1,11; 4:46, despite the plural «signs» in 3:2), however, his language may indicate only the third time in the narrative, not the third appearance altogether. 10857 That John 21 does not enumerate all the gospels» resurrection appearances but counts only those in this Gospel seems to me a further piece of evidence favoring Johannine authorship of this chapter. 10858 This passage reflects knowledge of the tradition that Peter and at least some of his colleagues (21:3)–here presumably the sons of Zebedee (21:2)–were fishermen, a tradition undoubtedly widely known in the early church (cf. Mark 1:16–20 ). 10859 It has often been argued as well that the passage reflects knowledge of the same tradition as appears in Luke 5:1–10; although the argument depends, to some degree, on the relative paucity of extant traditions available for our modern perusal, it is probably correct. Peter acts in character, taking the lead in 21(13:24; 18:10,15; cf. Mark 14:31, 37 ), as some students in ancient schools were known to do. 10860 He also displays for Jesus his physical prowess in 21and 21:11; this might appeal to heroic or masculine ideals in the ancient Mediterranean world–perhaps acceptable provided it was used to demonstrate loyalty to his Lord (as it was in 21:7, ll). 10861 This might also be in character; at least some ancient people viewed fishermen as «tough,» inured to the labors of their trade. 10862 |
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